The Responsibilities of a Conveyancer

When a property is sold or purchased, the area of law which governs the transfer process of the property is known as conveyancing. The legal representative who handles this service on the behalf of the buyer and seller is known as a conveyancer.

As soon as the seller accepts an offer, they should hire the services of a conveyancer as their assistance will be required at every step during the process. Following are the responsibilities that the conveyancer will shoulder for the seller:

Identity Check

Once the instruction is given, the seller’s conveyancer is required to confirm the identity of the seller to establish compliance with anti-money laundering regulations. Upon completion of the identity check the Land registry is informed about the firm which acted for the seller. This information is provided to the Land Registry by the buyer’s conveyancer. In this manner the Land Registry can rely or verify the check made by the firm.

Put Together Documentation

The terms to which the buyer and seller have agreed to regarding the sale will be clarified by the seller’s conveyancer. They will then obtain the title deeds and also the details of all mortgages or other financial charges secured on the property.

A number of forms will be sent to the client to complete which may include a property information form and a contents and fittings form. This is done with the purpose of gathering as much information as there exists about the property.

When all details have been gathered the information is sent to the buyer’s conveyancer. Other supporting documents that you may have to send include FENSA, NHBC and other guarantees, gas safety certificates, indemnity policies and building regulation and planning permission certificates.

Drafting the Contract

Once the supporting documents have been gathered and the forms have been completed, the seller’s conveyancer will make use of the gathered information to draft the contract. This pre-contract package will then be forwarded to the conveyancer of the buyer along with all relevant documents and completed property forms.

Answer Enquiries

The buyer’s conveyancer may have certain questions after he or she has reviewed the documents. In the conveyancing process this stage is known as ‘raising enquiries’. The seller’s conveyancer will guide the seller about which matters need disclosure and which matters do not need to be elaborated upon when questions are raised.

Negotiation

The terms of the contract will need to be negotiated by the seller’s and buyer’s Conveyancer. The contents of this negotiation include the day when the exchange will take place and agreement on the completion date. It will also be decided which contents and fixtures will be included in the sale. The price of the things which are being sold along with the house (if any) will be determined. If any defects are found during the searches and surveys it will be decided if the purchase price must be lowered.

Contract Exchange

The conveyancer of the seller and the buyer obtain their respective client’s authority to exchange for an agreed completion date. It will be checked whether each party has signed an identical contract and agree upon the completion date as well as the amount of deposit that needs to be paid.

If this step has not already been taken, it is the responsibility of the seller’s conveyancer to investigate how much is owed by the seller on their mortgage. If applicable this is known as a redemption figure.

Manage the Completion Day

The completion money will be received by the seller’s conveyancer on the day of completion. Upon receiving the money the Conveyancer will be required to handle the logistics when the keys will be released to the buyer.

Any existing mortgage will be discharged along with any other financial obligations and charges which the seller is required to pay. The Transfer Deed and Title Deed along with any required undertakings will be sent to the Conveyancer of the buyer.

The seller’s conveyancer will make payments for any outstanding liabilities such as the payment which must be made towards the estate agent’s fees. When everything else has been taken care of the seller’s conveyancer must transfer the outstanding balance to the buyer.

If you have bought a property, you should make provisions to protect it in case an unforeseen event leaves you incapable of managing your affairs. If you want further information on how to make a Will, you can get in touch with a Will writing service for more help and guidance.